Agenda

Return

D. 3

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	Ed Woo, Chief Information Officer
Date:	May 23, 2017

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Extend Temporary Employment Period for County Retiree Ralph Simmons

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 05/23/2017

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

Sheryl Webster 925-313-1281

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: May 23, 2017
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

1. FIND that the appointment of Mr. Simmons is necessary to fill a critically needed position; and

3. APPROVE and AUTHORIZE extension of the term of temporary employment of Ralph Simmons, retired Information Systems Programmer Analyst, Department of Information Technology, for the period July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018.

FISCAL IMPACT:

If the request is granted, there will continue to be salary and employment tax payments for the hours provided of approximately $54,911 for up to 960 hours per year. These costs will be offset by savings due to the vacancy of the permanent position. There is no additional fiscal impact. Salary costs are included in the Department's operating budget.

BACKGROUND:

The department would like to extend Mr. Simmons temporary employment term due to the ongoing need for back-up support for the PeopleSoft Payroll and Human Resources HCM system, Kronos Timekeeping system and continued support for the interfaces for CPAS, a pension administration system, for the Contra Costa County Employees’ Retirement Association.

Mr. Simmons retired from the Department of Information Technology on September 1, 2016. He served in a key role in the maintenance and support of various systems Kronos Timekeeping system and the Retirement systems. He worked with the Department of Information Technology for over 18 years, working with PeopleSoft, Kronos and other mainframe systems using COBOL.

In the past year, three Senior Analysts who supported our PeopleSoft Human Capital Management (HCM) and Kronos Timekeeping systems retired, promoted or transferred with little notice. This left one Senior Analyst to support the system. The Department of Information Technology started to train a mid-level Analyst and has hired three lower-level Analysts to learn the systems. The PeopleSoft HCM system is currently used to process the County’s payroll, in addition to maintaining human resources and employee benefits records. Mr. Simmons will also ensure PeopleSoft and Kronos daily operations; enhancement request and user support will not be interrupted. During this time Mr. Simmons will be training the new analysts to assume these duties.

The Department of Information Technology has been struggling to attract and retain staff with knowledge and skills related to PeopleSoft and mainframe technology. With over 18 years of experience in this area with Contra Costa County, Mr. Simmons is uniquely qualified to perform the necessary training and help with the support. The Department does not have any other staff that possess the specialized technical and business knowledge of the County justice systems and who can complete the work that is essential to the continued support of the PeopleSoft application.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

Disapproval of the request will increase the risk that the County will be unable to process employee Payroll, Human Resources and Employee Benefits timely and accurately, the serious consequences of which cannot be overstated.